Important Information for Members

Your membership access card permits you access to the StartSpace coworking space as part of the membership benefits.

You must carry your access card with you and display it at all times in the Library so your membership is identifiable to staff and other members.

Do not lend or borrow your membership access card.

If you leave your pass at home

We are unfortunately unable to issue multiple temporary passes so if you forget your pass one day by accident and have already arrived in the library please use the other library spaces on that particular day. 

If you have lost your pass completely please email the StartSpace team at [email protected]

We ask all members to help us keep the coworking space a safe and welcoming place to work. 

Urgent Assistance

If you need any urgent assistance including Police / Ambulance / Fire – please immediately call 000

Security emergency

If you see or are aware of a security emergency in the library please call:  03 8664 7300

Suspicious behaviour

If you see or suspect any suspicious behaviour or incidents please report them to a member of the library staff on the floor. 

• Please handle all StartSpace equipment and spaces with care. 
• The team understands that equipment can break or and accidents can happen.
• If you notice any spillages within the coworking space please let the nearest StartSpace or Library staff on the floor in the public space know immediately so the cleaners can be contacted.
• If you come across any damaged or malfunctioning equipment please report it to StartSpace staff immediately on [email protected] or on 03 8664 7111.

• If there’s an emergency where you need to respond immediately, you’ll be alerted over the Library’s intercom system.
• If you receive instructions over the intercom please follow them. – In this example you will not need to call Security – they will already be aware of the situation.
• The emergency intercom is connected to speakers throughout the building. So wherever you are in the Library, and regardless of the level of background noise, you’ll hear the alert and evacuate tones.
• If you are instructed to evacuate please exit the building and make your way to the nearest assembly area and wait there until the chief emergency coordinator, delegate or uniformed security guard advises that it is safe to return to the Library.

Assembly areas:

In an emergency, head to any of these assembly areas in walking distance of the Library:

• Old Melbourne Gaol on Russell Street
• RMIT on the corner of La Trobe and Swanston streets

• The StartSpace coworking space is designated for StartSpace members only.
• Please look in front and behind you when entering and exiting StartSpace to ensure you do not let members of the public or tailgaters follow in accidentally.
• For StartSpace Loft members: Please also be cautious when entering and exiting through Entrance 3 of the State Library. This is not used as a general public entrance.
• If you are unsure if a member is entering you can politely ask if they have their membership pass with them.
• If you do not feel comfortable asking please alert a member of Library security staff, either on the floor or by calling the security number issued on the back of your security pass.

StartSpace is one of the few spaces in the library where food and drink other than bottled water is allowed.

As such you must keep any food or drink you wish to consume within StartSpace concealed within your bag until you are inside StartSpace.

Please see the full State Library Food and Drink policy here.

• To ensure your belongings remain secure we recommend you avoid leaving personal items unattended in StartSpace.
• Do not use personal items to hold a desk while you are away for extended periods of 30 minutes or more.
• If you see personal items left behind by other members do not take them. They will be picked up by staff who will hand them into Lost Property at the State Library.
• Please note CCTV cameras operate in StartSpace and other library spaces.
• StartSpace reserves the right to revoke your membership or consider other escalations in the event of non-compliance of these membership guidelines.

• If you have left something in StartSpace and are looking to retrieve it please visit our Visitor Services Officers in the public spaces of the Library.
• Visitor Services Officers wear blue identifiers and have access to the lost property database.
• They can help you retrieve any lost items.
• If you are not in the coworking space you may post on the “Lost & Found” channel in “Slack” or email [email protected] to ask fellow members or StartSpace staff to report the item for you.

If you booked a meeting room but cannot attend please cancel your booking using the original Booking Confirmation email sent by “LibCal”.

Please leave meeting rooms clean and tidy after use, ensuring any rubbish is disposed of in the bins provided in StartSpace and equipment is returned to its original state.

• Always be respectful to other members and Library staff. Failure to exercise mutual respect could result in security escalations.
• StartSpace is a place of work for yourself and other members. As such you are welcome to conduct conversations and calls throughout the space. When doing so please be respectful of others around you regarding the volume and nature of your conversation.
• Please leave the desks, equipment, whiteboards, monitors and meeting rooms etc as you found them after use.
• If you use the white board please clear it for the next person.
• Please do not place StartSpace monitors on the ground or on the bookshelf. If you need to move one to create space please place it on a vacant desk.
• Please do not stick anything on the walls or glass around the coworking space. You are welcome to use the whiteboards for workshopping ideas and using post-it notes or the pinboard in the ground floor coworking space to share your business related content with other members.

State Library Victoria has self-facilitated studios to help you produce your next audio project.

The studios are free to use. To get started you need to:

1. Become a Library member (this is different to your StartSpace membership).
2. Book an induction for the studio you wish to use in future.
3. After completing your induction you can book the studio. 

Find out more here.